Manufacturing Matters Podcast

"Every B***o turns on with 12 eyes … and if one robot makes a mistake in a train depot yard in Australia, or an airport in South America, or doing vegetation management alongside a road in Pennsylvania, the entire fleet learns from that lesson.”

For years, autonomous robots largely stayed indoors, confined to the predictable aisles of warehouses and factories. Leveraging his experience growing up working on a farm, B***o Co-Founder and CEO Charlie Andersen sought to develop rugged autonomous robots that work safely and effectively alongside people in the messy, ever-changing conditions of the great outdoors.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Andersen and B***o marketing coordinator Shelby Allen to explore how the company went from “three guys and a dog named Meg” working out of an unheated barn to a fleet of roughly 750 robots that haul, tow, mow, spray, and patrol across agricultural and industrial sites worldwide.

The conversation covers why building autonomy that works near people outdoors is far harder than automating big machines or indoor warehouses, and how “physical AI” adds a crucial third leg — training data — to the traditional hardware-and-software stack. Andersen explains how a larger fleet means more “eyes on the world,” compounding learning across every unit, and why the company’s surprising surge of industrial demand (now roughly a third of its fleet) prompted its first appearance at Automate 2026. Additional topics include the B***o Grande 44, the “Swiss cheese” model of safety, the role of large language models and voice commands on mobile robots, user privacy and data sovereignty, and why Andersen believes the U.S. has a major opportunity to lead as physical AI meets outdoor work.

Link to the full episode in the comments.

“Computational design and 3D printing go together like peanut butter and chocolate.”

For most of its history, 3D printing was considered speculative, risky, even fringe. Today, says Eric Utley, 3D printing applications engineering manager at Protolabs, it’s boring, and that’s exactly the point.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Utley, a 16-year veteran of the additive manufacturing industry, to explore how 3D printing has quietly evolved from a rapid prototyping curiosity into mainstream production technology, and where it’s headed next.

The conversation covers how Fortune 500 companies like GE and HP helped shift additive manufacturing toward end-use production, why the explosion of application-specific materials is one of the clearest signs of the industry’s maturation, and how customers are increasingly designing parts specifically for 3D printing rather than as a stepping stone to other processes. Additional topics include the growing role of AI and computational design, how hobbyists are quietly driving innovation, and why algorithmic-based design processes paired with digital manufacturing are creating new opportunities.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in manufacturing right now. But for many plant teams, it still feels more like a concept than a practical tool. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Aaron Hand sits down with Alex Sandoval, founder and CEO of Allie, to break down what AI actually looks like on the factory floor.

Sandoval explains how AI co-pilots can connect to PLCs, quality systems, and maintenance data to act like a 24/7 expert supervisor — surfacing problems before they cause downtime and guiding operators toward faster, better decisions. But the technology itself isn’t the biggest hurdle. From disconnected machines and unclear data ownership to the cultural challenges of trust and fear, most manufacturers aren’t failing because of AI. They’re getting stuck before it can deliver value.

Link to the full episode is in the comments

“One of my biggest complaints with public policy is we’re too reactive. And because technology now changes so rapidly, if you’re reactive, by the time you have a policy in place, it’s outdated.” -Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan

The United States accounts for just 9% of global robotics installations while China accounts for 54% — a gap that Congresswoman McClellan believes demands a proactive response from Washington. That’s the driving force behind the National Commission on Robotics Act (HR 7334), a bipartisan bill that would establish an 18-member Commission on American Leadership in Robotics to assess U.S. competitiveness, workforce needs, and supply chain security in robotics and AI.

In this episode of the Manufacturing Matters podcast, TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin and Jimmy Carroll are joined by Congresswoman McClellan, U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, to discuss why now is the time for government to get ahead of the curve on robotics and AI policy — rather than react to it after the fact.

The conversation highlights the key pillars any national robotics policy must address, from workforce development and reskilling to supply chain resilience and the ethical guardrails needed as AI and robotics increasingly converge. Congresswoman McClellan also discusses the makeup of the proposed commission, why its recommendations will need to be revisited far more frequently than traditional legislation allows, and why winning the AI race at the expense of communities, energy, and resources would be a Pyrrhic victory. Additional topics include real-world examples of robotics driving safety and efficiency — from bottling facilities to Amazon distribution centers — and how Congress can play a meaningful role in shaping the future of automation without stifling innovation.

👇Full episode at the link in the comments.

"Engineers can now start thinking about cell design not from the cages, but from the actual work."

A significant if not obvious factor that all companies implementing robotic systems must consider is safety. While robotic guarding has been the industry standard for years, Sensory Robotics COO Mark Gagas believes another way offers more flexibility and space for manufacturers. After 19 months of rigorous testing, his company now has UL certification to prove it.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing's Jimmy Carroll sits down with Gagas to discuss how Sensory Robotics' SR-1 system uses 3D vision to provide 100% human detection coverage, replace hard guarding with an intelligent, monitored space around the robot — allowing workers and machines to operate together naturally, at full speed and full payload.

The conversation covers what the newly achieved certification means for customers and the broader market, how advances in 3D time-of-flight sensing and edge computing made a system like SR-1 possible, and why fenceless factory design could unlock significant gains in floor space and productivity.

Gagas also walks through the company’s expanding product line, including a DoD-funded mobile platform, SR-2— which embeds safety directly into the arm — and SR Insight, a data layer that adds productivity dashboards, human ergonomics analysis, and live risk assessment monitoring on top of the core safety infrastructure.

Artificial intelligence is quickly making its way onto the manufacturing floor. But when it comes to safety, the stakes are different. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Winn Hardin and Aaron Hand talk with Erik Reynolds, founder of Reynolds & Moore, about what it really takes to bring AI into safety-critical systems.

For decades, safety engineering has relied on deterministic, fully explainable systems. AI challenges that foundation, introducing models that learn, adapt, and sometimes behave in ways we don’t fully understand. So why use AI at all? Reynolds explains where it actually adds value — from enabling smarter human-robot collaboration to the possibility of systems that improve safety over time, not degrade. But with that potential comes a new challenge: proving that these systems can be trusted.

👇Full episode at the link in the comments.

Robots may get most of the attention, but what happens at the end of the arm often determines whether an automation project succeeds or fails. As manufacturers push for greater flexibility, faster changeovers, and more complex handling, the demands on grippers and end-of-arm tooling are evolving at least as quickly as the robots themselves.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Aaron Hand talks with Aaron Royster, group manager of automation at Schunk, about how end-of-arm tooling is shaping system design, enabling more adaptable automation, and unlocking new applications. They also explore the growing role of artificial intelligence, the balance between hardware and software innovation, and why some manufacturers are rethinking how they approach automation — from the gripper back.

👇Full episode at the link in the comments.

Computer imaging (aka Machine Vision) is having a moment, and Allied Vision CEO Robert Franz explains why. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, he joins Winn Hardin to talk about Allied Vision’s brand unification, the shift from components to customer-first solutions, and why AI, edge intelligence, SWIR imaging, and open smart cameras are opening up huge new opportunities across automation, agriculture, healthcare, robotics, and beyond. It’s a fast-moving conversation about where vision technology is headed next and why the future looks bright.

👇Full episode at the link in the comments.

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, host Dan McCarthy of TECH B2B Marketing sits down with Arne Leinse, CEO of LioniX International, to explore the manufacturing realities behind photonic integrated circuits (PICs) — one of the most technically demanding frontiers in semiconductor manufacturing.

As CEO of a module supplier built around silicon nitride waveguide technology, Leinse highlights the challenges that make PICs so difficult to produce at scale, from the need for sub-nanometer alignment tolerances to the “chicken and egg” challenge of building fabrication capacity ahead of market demand.

The conversation also explores how LioniX’s vertically integrated business model has helped it navigate this emerging manufacturing sector by unlocking flexibility across markets spanning quantum sensing to AR/VR. The episode also touches on industry standardization, in-process quality control, supply chain complexity, and the global talent strategies required to staff an emerging deep-tech sector.

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In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, host Winn Hardin sits down with Clint Bundy, managing director of the Bundy Group, to pull back the curtain on the world of mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising within the industrial automation sector. As the manufacturing industry faces a "graying" C-suite and shifting economic forecasts, Bundy provides a masterclass on how business owners can navigate these high-stakes transitions.

👇Full episode at the link in the comments.